When the little girls were found, they told their rescuers they curled up under a tree and slept in their fleece pyjamas.

Phil's wife Helene struggled to find enough words to convey her gratitude for the more than 30 OPP officers, paramedics and others involved with the search of land, skies and waterways using ATVs and dogs, a helicopter and OPP's marine unit.

"It was a horrendous night," she said, reaching our to put her hand on Phil's shoulder. "But the community -- the people who came and stayed with us all night -- and the OPP and the men, were absolutely wonderful.

"They stayed most of the night with us. And the OPP -- the vehicles. I will never begrudge paying taxes again. If you could see the type of response we got, you heart would just warm up."

They were found nearly two km away from where the family had set up camp along the shore of scenic Airds Lake. It was OPP officers who found the girls by calling to them and hearing them call back.

Renfrew County paramedic chief Michael Nolan ferried the kids out in the front seat of an all-terrain vehicle, wrapped in a shiny, silver blanket with helmets on their bobbing heads and they bounced down the rocky trail past the throng of reporters.

Nolan said the girls' only injuries were a few scratches and slight dehydration.